With increasing attention toward generating cost-effective biochemical conversion methods for producing biofuels, it helps to follow the leaders who have perfected the process. The mere Reticulitermes flavipes, or eastern ...

A greater focus on the role of microbiology in agriculture combined with new technologies can help mitigate potential food shortages associated with world population increases according to a new report from the American Academy ...

One of the first studies published in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill involved DOE Joint Genome Institute researchers and confirmed that microbial communities did play a role in dispersing the hydrocarbons ...

When astronauts launch into space, a microbial entourage follows. And the sheer number of these followers would give celebrities on Twitter a run for their money. The estimate is that normal, healthy adults have ten times ...

The deconstruction of biomass is a pivotal process in the biofuel industry, but the enzymes that possess a significant role in the breakdown of biomass remain relatively unexplored. To this end, DOE researchers at several ...

One of the keys to commercialization of advanced biofuels is the development of cost-competitive ways to extract fermentable sugars from lignocellulosic biomass. The use of enzymes from thermophiles - microbes that thrive ...

Methane-consuming microbes live deep underground in pristine aquifers, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and the Environmental Protection Agency. This type of organism, which ...

Glacier retreat areas provide an excellent window into the evolution of microbial communities, an ideal opportunity for scientists to study how quickly soil biological functions become established and how ecosystems begin ...

Coral reefs face serious threats primarily arising from climate change, unsustainable fishing, and pollution. To better understand the underlying processes, a multidisciplinary series of studies is being conducted by researchers, ...